Joyo JF-12 Voodoo Octave Guitar Pedal Review

We strive to be always in the know when it comes to guitar pedals, which is why we give you the latest must-have when it comes to the Octavia: the Joyo JF-12. Other than being considered as a “monsterfuzzer,” there are other things we considered to be enough for a review. Read on.

Joyo JF-12 Voodoo Octava Guitar Pedal Details & Specs

Distortion + octave up mods and tones with True Bypass wiring

Aluminum alloy casing with durable varnish finish (green)

Mid-cut switch available for tone control, fuzz for chops

¼ inch jacks and connectors

13.8 ounces, 9V battery-powered

Retailed at $30

Heads up if you’re a fuzz-lover! The JF-12 is a fun pedal to begin with, offering more breadth for fuzz tones and warming them up for you with just one or two solid stomps.

We particularly like its versatility – for brighter guitars like Strats, you will only need to turn off the upper mids to even out the tone; for Les Pauls, they should be switched on. It’s also great for stacking with Jekyll and Hyde, which basically means you can play it well with others.

Going back to fuzz, expect the standard distortion tones you’re used to; or imagine the sound of an EHX Big Muff, full and very grainy. The name “Octave Fuzz” suggests a very different, if not strange breed of fuzz for the average or advanced player, mainly because of its upper and lower harmonics that make up part of the distinguishable distortion.

The octave up effect is slight but is noticeable, depending on how trained you consider your ears to be. However, if you’re keen on obvious octave up effects, you might not like it at all. There’s a reason why the octave frequency can be heard better on some parts of the fretboard. There is no pitch-shifting effect coming from an octave fuzz pedal, which is why the frequencies on the upper register are more emphasized. Still, given its seemingly measly price, you will still be getting a lot of fuzz even when it seems over the top.

Its three knobs are for the tone, fuzz, volume, and normal/mid cut switch. The stomp switches are for activating either true bypass or the octave effect. Again, the ability of this pedal to adapt to various buffers is impressive, so you can expect and experiment with a lot of fun fuzzy tones with single coils or humbuckers. The midrange fuzz is enough to cut through any mix, but then again, the octave switch isn’t exactly capable of achieving Hendrix-esque levels.

In conclusion, it’s a great starter pedal for experimentation with fuzz tones but not much on the upper and lower octaves. It’s not bad for an “octave fuzz,” although it could use a lot of improvement. For $30, we do consider it as a buck-banger.

Is it for you?

Preference always plays an important role in figuring out whether a pedal works for you or not. The JF-12, given its abilities, isn’t a bad choice for an octave fuzz. It’s not the best type of octave pedal, but it’s definitely worth looking into.